United States Constitution and Twentieth Century Federalism

Federalism is the form of government in the united states where separate states are united under one central authority but with specific powers granted to both components in a written constitution .Patrick Henry coined the word in 1788 when, during the Virginia ratification convention debates over the proposed U.S Constitution ,he angrily asked, "Is this federalism?.'' In 1787 the constitution replaced it with another, more balanced, version that has worked for over two centuries. During the time, however the history of federalism has been incessantly disrupted by a constant debate between those who wanted to enlarge the central government and those who demanded that states' rights be strictly respected and even expanded.

During Reconstruction the war argument over the use of federal power erupted in violence against newly enfranchised blacks and Republican government in the South .In the late nineteenth century the federal government retreated from its temporary expansion of power in saving the Union and trying to remake the South. Whether in tolerating state created racial segregation or striking down federal efforts to regulate the new industrial order, the federal courts limited federal authority in many areas of public life. At the beginning of the twentieth century progressive reformers wanted to enlarge the role of the federal government and solve glaring economic and social problems. With mixed success they sought federal legislation to regulate the workplace, protect labor unions, and promote "moral improvement." During the 1930s the new deal redefined federalism and saved the economy by recognizing federal responsibility over many areas of public and private activity that previously had been unregulated or solely the purview of the states, Including banking, the stock exchanges, and the workplace. In the last half of the twentieth century federalism was the central issue in both black and women's civil rights. It...

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

...﻿State and Local Government
What is Federalism?
The UnitedStates has one of the most complicated forms of government in the world. With many levels and subdivisions, this form of government is called federalism. Within the UnitedStates, federalism is marked by a continuous change in the system of connections between the national, state, and local governments. At times, the different levels of government act independently and at other times, the levels became so entangled that it becomes impossible to tell apart the responsibilities of one from the other. Federalism is just one of the three main systems of power used by the UnitedStates.
There are two ways, other than pure federalism, to organize power among national and regional governments. Pure federalism is also known as a federal system. In a federal system, the central and regional governments are divided in power and responsibilities, and the governments do not depend on each other for their power. Voters elect candidates into both the regional and central levels within a federal system allowing the UnitedStates to have a representative government, meaning that people elect representatives to legislate on their behalf.
Another system of government is the unitary system. In a...

...﻿Federalism
What is federalism you might ask? The concept of federalism was created when the Framers began to develop the Constitution of the UnitedStates. This form of government was derived as a compromise of power between the states and the federal government. The goal of federalism is to preserve personal liberty by separating the powers of the government so that one government or group may not dominate all powers. Federalism divides the powers of government between national and state government. Also, federalism is a system based upon democratic rules and institutions in which the power to govern is shared between national and state governments, creating what is called a federation. The national government will govern issues that affect the entire county where as the smaller subdivisions will govern the issues of the local community. Both of these systems of government have the power to make laws and have a certain amount of freedom from one another. The U.S does have a federal system of govern that contains these two national governments and the government of individual states.
A federal government is the common government of a federation. The national Constitution is "the supreme law of the land." In the U.S. constitution it states that...

...Notes
POLS 1101
1. The Constitution
a. Constitutional Change
i. Constitutional change processes:
1. The formal amendment process
a. Two stages: (Both stages are necessary)
i. Proposal
1. Two thirds of congress votes needed
ii. Ratification
2. Three fourths of state legislatures votes needed
b. Interpretation by the courts
iii. Marbury v. Madison
3. Supreme court declared that the courts have the power to nullify government acts when they conflict with the constitution
iv. Judicial review is the courts main check on the other branches of government
4. Judicial review forces the courts to interpret the Constitution
ii. Only 27 amendments have been made
iii. Amending the constitution is extremely hard
iv. The GA Constitution is extremely easy to change and changes frequently
2. Federalism
b. The relationship between state and federal government is constantly changing
c. Theories and Metaphors
v. Federalism – the division of power between a central government and regional governments
vi. Federalism offered a solution to citizens fears that they...

...Federalism Concept and Nature Under Various Constitutions
Acknowlegdement
Doctrinal method of research
Part-1
Introduction
• Introduction to Federalism
Part - 2
Meaning Definition and Concept of Federalism
• Meaning and Definitions
• Nature of Federal government
• Essential Features of Federalism
Part – 3
Origin and Development of Federalism
• Origin of Federalism
• History of Federalism
• Development of Federal Concept
Part – 4
Federalism in other Countries in Comparision with India
• Concept of Federalism and Federal Government in
1. UnitedStates of America
2. Canada
3. Australia
• Functioning of Federalism in India
• The Supreme Court of India on the concept of Federalism
Chapter – 5
Conclusion
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Part-I
INTRODUCTION OF FEDERALISMFederalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head.
The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units...

...American History
December 8, 2007
Debate On Federalism
The UnitedStatesconstitution created a new type of government called federalism, which divided power between the states and the national government. But the proper balance of federalism has been debated throughout the history of the UnitedStates, Federalism, which signifies members of a group that are bond together with a governing representative head. Two time periods that there has been a debate on federalism was the Supreme Court under John Marshall in (1801- 1835) and the extension of slavery in (1820-1860).
During the time period in which Supreme Court was under the rule of John Marshall the power of judicial branch was greatly strengthened. The decision of the Supreme Court in McCulloch v. Maryland in 1819, states could not tax federal institutions and upheld by congressional authority to create the Second Bank of the UnitedStates, even though the authority to do this was not expressly stated in the Constitution. This decision made stronger the federal supremacy and national economic interests. Also the debate between Federalist and Anti-Federalists over approval demonstrated the existence of differences of opinion on government. The formation of political parties led to constitutional changes...

...The UnitedStatesConstitution
Our Constitution became the new framework of government to protect the liberties the American people had fought for and won in the American Revolution. There was much deliberation about the principles of republican government and those deliberation defined not only the American government but also the American character. During the debates over the ratification of our Constitution, the supporters were known as “Federalists” and the opponents as “Anti-Federalist.” The Anti-Federalists argued they were defending individual liberty, republican self-government, and the federal principle of balanced power between the national and state governments. They felt the Constitution would lead to a centralized power in the national government, a republic that was too large, a corrupt senate and judiciary, unlimited taxation, and an aristocracy (Williams 162-165).
I would have joined Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay and supported the Federalists. Hamilton, Madison and Jay composed a series of eighty-five essays to generate support for Constitution; these essays appeared in newspapers and were gathered as a book, The Federalists. Hamilton and Madison repeatedly wrote the Constitution protected Americans’ liberties rather that posing a threat to remove their liberties (Foner 263). Hamilton wrote in The Federalist No....

...government tried collecting back taxes and the Assembly and royal officials debated the proper role of the government and the land tax.
During a tumultuous political break in 1650s England, many royalists had helped Charles II secure his throne, so once he returned and assumed power, the king started awarding land grants to his political allies. In North Carolina, the suspension of land tax attracted colonial settlers, but not as many migrated as the Assembly had hoped; the 1669 Albemarle Assembly delayed the land tax for a year. The suspensions failed to draw many newcomers because Virginia officials purposefully degraded North Carolinians and used tax breaks to keep landowners in their colony.
The land tax and the sale of land in the state caused many problems, including disagreements among Proprietors, Governors, and the Assembly. The Proprietors wanted the taxes to be paid in sterling, but many Carolinians could only pay with marketable assets. Before 1715, agents seized land for nonpayment of taxes, but in 1715 the Albemarle Assembly disallowed agents from assessing seized property and allowed those assets as payment. During the 1720s, the Proprietors lost more and more control over their colony.
North Carolinians’ irritation with the taxes for their land intensified under the administration of the first royal governor, George Burrington, an enemy of the Proprietors and ironically a former friend of liberty. North Carolinians lived outside of...

...placed in the Constitution more or less as an afterthought. It was not proposed or discussed on the floor of the Constitutional Convention. Rather, Gouverneur Morris, a delegate from Pennsylvania who as a member of the Committee of Style actually drafted the near-final text of the Constitution, composed it at the last moment. It was Morris who gave the considered purposes of the Constitution coherent shape, and the Preamble was the capstone of his expository gift. The Preamble did not, in itself, have any substantive legal meaning. The understanding at the time was that preambles are merely declaratory and are not to be read as granting or limiting power—a view sustained by the Supreme Court in Jacobson v. Massachusetts (1905).
Nevertheless, the Preamble has considerable potency by virtue of its specification of the purposes for which the Constitution exists. It distills the underlying values that moved the Framers during their long debates in Philadelphia. As Justice Joseph Story put it in his celebrated Commentaries on the Constitution of the UnitedStates, "its true office is to expound the nature and extent and application of the powers actually conferred by the Constitution." Alexander Hamilton, in The Federalist No. 84, went so far as to assert that the words "secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity" were "a better recognition of...